(A/N):
Drop a here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
Guys I hope you put more comnts and power stones... Which will encourage ...
....
The following weeks settled back into a familiar rhythm for Karuppu.
Classes.
Assignnts.
VFX projects.
Programming exercises.
The occasional cricket practice.
And the never-ending struggle of surviving on food that still couldn't compete with his mother's cooking.
Life in California had beco surprisingly normal.
At least as normal as life could be for soone whose latest film was rewriting records across the Indian film industry.
anwhile, 13B continued completing the final stages of its theatrical run.
What had started as a successful horror thriller eventually beca one of the most profitable films ever produced in India.
By the ti the collections finally stopped growing, the trade figures left the entire industry stunned.
₹980 crores worldwide.
For years people would talk about that number.
Not because it crossed a thousand crores.
But because it nearly did.
And it had done so as a horror film.
A genre that traditionally struggled to compete with action spectacles and family entertainers.
"Highest Grossing Indian Horror Film."
anwhile, the man responsible for much of that success was sitting cross-legged on the floor of his apartnt playing PlayStation.
"That's cheating."
Adelaide complained looking at the screen before her.
"It's not cheating."
Karuppu replied without looking away from the television.
"You've been using the sa move for five minutes."
"Then stop falling for it."
"Kristen!"
"What?"
Kristen answered while focusing on her own character.
"Tell him that's cheating."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I'm winning."
Adelaide looked betrayed at her best friend.
"You two are impossible."
The ga continued.
The room filled with trash talk.
Accusations.
Celebrations.
And repeated declarations that the controller was clearly malfunctioning.
Eventually Karuppu's phone began vibrating.
Without taking his eyes off the screen, he reached over and answered.
"Hello."
"Sir."
His secretary's voice erged from the speaker.
Imdiately Karuppu recognized the tone.
Professional.
Controlled.
Trying very hard to remain professional.
Which usually ant sothing interesting had happened.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, sir."
"Then what's happened?"
A pause followed.
"Your revenue share has arrived."
That finally got Karuppu's attention.
He paused the ga.
Even Adelaide and Kristen turned toward him.
"How much?"
More silence.
The secretary cleared his throat.
"As per the contract, your fifteen percent profit participation has been settled."
Karuppu nodded his head.
"Okay."
The secretary sounded almost offended by how calm he was.
"Sir."
"Yes?"
"The amount is one hundred and forty-seven crores."
The room beca completely silent.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Karuppu blinked. Then blinked again.
Across from him, Adelaide nearly dropped her controller.
"What?"
Kristen looked equally confused she could piece through with the voice leaking from his mobile.
"How much?"
Karuppu slowly lowered the phone from his ear.
"Apparently..."
He looked at them.
"I just received one hundred and forty-seven crores."
Adelaide stared at him in shock.
"...."
Then stared so more.
Even through Rupee value is less than a dollar.
The amount seems crazy.
Finally she pointed at him.
"No."
"What?"
"No normal person says that sentence. Like it was nothing to them."
Karuppu laughed hearing her complain.
"-Haha!!!"
"I'm not normal?"
"Absolutely not."
Kristen nodded in agreent.
"She's got a point."
The secretary continued discussing taxes, investnts, and paynt confirmations.
Karuppu listened carefully before ending the call.
The mont the call ended, Adelaide leaned forward.
"Okay."
"What?"
"I need a conversion."
"A conversion?"
"Yes. Tell how to beco a millionaire like you?"
Karuppu laughed loudly.
"-Hahaha!!!"
"I have no idea."
Adelaide dramatically fell backward onto the couch.
"This is why rich people shouldn't be allowed."
Kristen rolled her eyes.
"You sound jealous."
"I am jealous."
At least she was honest.
A few monts later Kristen stood up.
"Right."
Both looked at her.
"What?"
Karuppu asked seeing her suddenly worked up.
"We celebrate."
Adelaide imdiately nodded.
"Agreed."
"How?"
Kristen grabbed her phone.
The answer ca instantly.
"Pizza."
"Of course."
"Obviously."
Adelaide pointed accusingly.
"You're only choosing pizza because you won."
Kristen smiled smugly.
According to the sacred laws established by their gaming sessions months ago, whoever won the most matches got to choose dinner.
And unfortunately for Adelaide, Kristen had completely dominated today's session.
"I earned this."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
While the two continued arguing, Kristen was already placing the order.
A large pepperoni pizza.
A barbecue chicken pizza.
Garlic bread.
Wings.
And enough soda to feed a small army.
Karuppu looked at the growing order.
"Are we celebrating my paynt or feeding the entire building?"
"Both."
Kristen answered without any sha.
Adelaide imdiately approved.
"Best idea you've had all day."
Within half an hour the food arrived.
The three gathered around the coffee table.
Controllers forgotten.
The ga abandoned.
As they ate, the conversation drifted naturally from classes to movies.
From movies to auditions.
From auditions to future plans.
At one point Adelaide suddenly pointed a pizza slice toward Karuppu.
"You know."
"What?"
"One hundred and forty-seven crores."
Karuppu sighed hearing her.
"Not this again."
She ignored him.
"When you beco ridiculously famous..."
"I'm already famous."
"More famous."
Kristen corrected him forgetting she too was famous.
"Thank you."
Adelaide nodded.
"When you beco more famous, rember us."
Karuppu laughed.
"I see you every day."
"Still."
She pointed dramatically at herself and Kristen.
"We were here before the private islands."
That made all three burst out laughing.
Three months passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Life settled into a comfortable routine for Karuppu.
Morning classes.
VFX projects.
Programming assignnts.
Late-night gaming sessions.
The occasional argunt with Adelaide and Kristen over whose turn it was to clean the shared kitchen area.
The second year of his course had flown by faster than he expected.
Now the sumr break had finally arrived.
In another few months, he would officially enter the third year of his studies.
One afternoon Karuppu was returning from the academy library carrying a stack of books when his phone rang.
Seeing the number, he frowned.
It was an Indian number.
Not his manager. Not his family.
Not even his secretary.
Curious, he answered.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other side was professional.
Calm.
Direct.
"Mr. Karuppan Sivakumar?"
"Speaking."
"This is regarding your cricketing commitnts."
Karuppu imdiately stopped walking.
Cricket?
"...."
The official introduced himself.
Then introduced the departnt he represented.
For the next few minutes Karuppu simply listened.
The more he listened, the more serious his expression beca.
Finally he spoke.
"You're saying there's a possibility?"
"Yes."
The official replied.
"A strong possibility."
Karuppu remained silent.
"...."
Even after all this ti.
Even after becoming an actor.
Even after moving halfway across the world.
The words still carried weight it.
Indian Cricket Team.
World Cup Squad for 2011.
Which is not a small things to achieve.
The dream every young cricketer secretly carried.
"We've been monitoring your developnt."
The official continued.
"Your performances during the IPL have been discussed extensively."
Karuppu thought back to those two seasons.
The fearless batting.
The sixes.
The match-winning performances.
The innings against Flintoff that still appeared in cricket highlight reels.
Even now comntators occasionally brought it up.
The official continued.
"We need you to report to the National Cricket Academy."
"NCA?"
"Yes."
"Bengaluru."
Karuppu slowly nodded.
"When?"
"As soon as possible."
The call ended shortly afterward.
For several seconds Karuppu simply stood there outside the library.
The California sunlight felt strangely distant.
Because his mind was already thousands of kiloters away.
India.
World Cup.
Blue jersey.
The very thought sent a chill through him.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
Then reality returned.
Classes.
Attendance.
University regulations.
Examinations.
With a sigh, he imdiately headed toward the administrative office.
Fortunately, his university already had provisions for athletes representing their countries.
Especially international students.
When the administration heard the reason behind his request, the reaction was almost comical.
One professor stared at him.
"You play international sports?"
Karuppu scratched his cheek.
"Potentially."
The professor blinked.
Then looked at the docunts.
Then back at Karuppu.
Then at the docunts again.
By the end of the eting, his leave request had been approved under the university's sports representation sche.
Two days later the entire nation exploded.
The squad announcent was broadcast across television channels.
Sports websites.
Newspapers.
Radio stations.
Social dia.
Everywhere.
Millions of Indian cricket fans waited anxiously.
Then the list was finally revealed.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain & Wicketkeeper)
Virender Sehwag (Vice-Captain)
Sachin Tendulkar
Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
Yusuf Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Ravichandran Ashwin
Piyush Chawla
Zaheer Khan
Ashish Nehra
Karuppu Sivakumar
Praveen Kumar
For several seconds after the announcent, sports channels focused on one particular na.
Karuppu Sivakumar.
The youngest mber of the squad along with his forr teammate Virat Kohli.
The actor.
The IPL sensation.
The boy who had spent the last year studying VFX in California.
And now...
A mber of India's World Cup squad.
Television studios erupted.
"Unbelievable!"
"From cinema to cricket!"
"Has there ever been a story like this?"
Forr cricketers began debating the selection.
So supported it.
So questioned it.
Others simply admitted the selectors had no choice.
The numbers spoke for themselves.
His IPL performances had forced the door open. He gives a dynamic play of cricket which is very rare.
In Chennai, Sivakumar nearly dropped the remote.
"What?"
Lakshmi grabbed her glasses and looked closer.
Then looked again.
Then slapped her husband on the shoulder.
"Look!"
"I am looking!"
"No, properly!"
By the ti they confird it was real, Lakshmi was already wiping tears from her eyes.
Her youngest son.
India's World Cup squad.
Not an acting award. Not a movie success.
The Indian cricket team.
Even Suriya, who had witnessed everything sat speechless.
"...."
Because every Indian understood what that blue jersey ant.
anwhile in California, another reaction was unfolding.
Kristen entered the apartnt carrying groceries.
Adelaide followed behind.
The mont they opened the door, they found Karuppu staring at his laptop.
"What happened?"
Kristen asked seeing his serious look on his face.
No answer.
Adelaide walked closer. Then looked at the screen.
"...."
A sports website.
A squad announcent.
A lot of excited comnts.
Then her eyes landed on the na.
Karuppu Sivakumar.
She froze looking at the screen.
Then slowly looked up.
Then back at the screen.
Then back at Karuppu.
"Wait."
A pause.
"WAIT."
Karuppu couldn't stop smiling.
Adelaide suddenly scread.
"YOU MADE THE WORLD CUP TEAM?!"
Kristen nearly dropped the grocery bags.
"The WHAT team?"
"The Indian World Cup squad!"
"What does that an?"
Adelaide turned dramatically toward her friend.
"It ans his country basically picked him among the best players available!"
Kristen's eyes widened.
"...."
Then she looked at Karuppu.
Then at the article.
Then at Karuppu again.
The realization slowly hit.
They had spent the last year treating him like an ordinary college student.
Playing gas.
Eating pizza.
Arguing over chores.
And now the television channels across an entire country were discussing him.
Karuppu simply leaned back in his chair.
For the first ti in a long while, he felt the familiar excitent of competition returning.
Movies.
Studies.
VFX.
Programming.
All of that could wait.
Because ahead of him stood sothing much bigger.
The World Cup.
*******************************
(Author note:)
I hope you guys give your opinion and idea's.
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